The annual Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) has announced the winners for the HICAP 2018 Sustainable Hotel Awards and Six Senses Fiji is thrilled to have taken the title in the Climate Action Category. It recognizes the resorts innovative new methods, strategies and technologies to face today’s sustainable development challenge, while providing tangible examples of sustainable best practices that can be replicated and adapted across the region.

For climate efforts, Six Senses Fiji is honored to have been awarded top spot for a range of initiatives that are practiced within the resort. In line with the commitments of the group, Six Senses Fiji develops sustainability and invites guests to share the responsibility to offset their carbon footprint.

The resort is designed to be 100 percent solar-powered using Tesla battering packs and with the largest microgrid in South Pacific. Energy from the sun is converted, stored and then used to power the villas, residences and facilities.

There is a desalination plant on the property that draws water from the ocean for irrigation and use in pools throughout the resort which is also powered by the Tesla batteries as much as possible. A water bottling plant draws water from a bore and purifies it to the highest drinking standards before being decanted into Six Senses glass bottles for distribution within the resort, with the aim to eliminate the use of single-use plastic bottles.

The organic garden at Six Senses Fiji is where fresh produce such as lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes, passion fruit, limes, cauliflowers and a range of herbs can be found. The fruit and vegetables are used in the resort’s three restaurants. Six Senses Spa Fiji also has its own garden with the produce being used in the Alchemy Bar for mixing body scrubs, poultices and lip balms.

There are less than 5,000 Fijian crested iguanas left in the world and Six Senses Fiji is proud to be home to 17 individuals of this critically endangered species. A recent visit from iguana specialists provided positive insights to the species and, with the sighting of two babies, demonstrated that they are successfully reproducing in their protected habitat within the resort.

Giving back to the environment is just as important as reducing energy consumption and working with a zero-waste mindset, therefore Six Senses Fiji works diligently to reforest, both on land and underwater in the surrounding area. A marine conservation project is ongoing with the team planting coral in the bay in front of the resort and regularly monitoring the results. Since the initiative began 3½ years ago the group has seen brilliant progress, with a thriving coral garden as the outcome.

Additional efforts can be seen throughout the resort and also behind the scenes, including the use of stainless-steel straws, low chemical pool infiltration and worm-based septic systems, to name a few, ensuring that the resort and guests drastically reduce their environmental footprint.

Six Senses Fiji has Jessie Matai as sustainability officer to oversee the eco practices taking place on a daily basis at the resort. Jessie is thrilled that the efforts she and the team are making are being recognized throughout the South Pacific. Jason Kruse, general manager said, “We take pride in incorporating sustainability into every aspect of our resort and operations. As a core value it is what we’re made of, not just a side project, and therefore we’re keen to set a high benchmark for ecotourism in our region.”